This paper describes a new user-friendly structural design system for pressure vessels which is based on finite element stress analyses. A basic concept of the developed system is to minimize the input data required for the finite element analyses and to perform the analysis quickly. To realize this, the system consists of the finite element modeling module based on fuzzy knowledge processing, the input data generation module, the finite element analyzer, the graphical user-interface module for analysis results and the stress evaluation module. Fundamental performances of the present system are clearly demonstrated through the analysis of a top nozzle.
